A Little Off Topic But...

This is unrelated to my typical "advice", but this is something near and dear to my heart: the great responsibility that Christians have to be responsible with what they preach. 

It was very sad when the media reported that the Pope took a stand, against condoms, in Angola.  If you don't know, many of the Western and Southern countries on the African continent have been ravaged by HIV and AIDS.  One way to control the spread of AIDS is the use of condoms, which are especially helpful for women, who are even more susceptible to contracting AIDS during intercourse. 

As a conservative Christian, I agree with a message of abstinence. It is something I practice in my personal life. But I feel that, as a Christian, I have a duty to the health and safety of others that steps beyond what I believe. For example, I am a vegetarian. I do not believe in eating meat, for health reasons.  I also believe that the original diet, as described in Genesis 2 with the creation of man, did not include meat.  But I would never seek to institute a rule against meat eating, because I understand that most people do not believe the way that I do.  And for many, it would be counter productive. However, not nearly as counterproductive as what was said by the Pope regarding condoms. In a nation where people claim that having sex with virgins will cure you, this is a dangerous message.